At the moment a 150ml glass of fruit juice can be counted towards your five a day but just recently the British Dental Health Foundation has advised that fruit juices are detrimental to dental health. It’s been discovered that many fruit juices aimed at children have at least 6 teaspoons of sugar and often come in cartons larger than the recommended portion size. In addition, many people are opting to drink fruit smoothies as they are marketed as being healthy due to the considerable fruit content. Unfortunately these also contain very high levels of sugar, as well as acid from the fruit and can do considerable damage to teeth.
Even though fruit juices can be a good way to consume more fruit, the high levels of acid and sugar often mean they can be bad for your dental health, particularly if you like to sip them over a long period of time. Smoothies tend to be a lot thicker and are prone to sticking to the teeth which enables sugar to come into contact with teeth for longer periods of time. Every time you have a fruit smoothie your teeth will be softened by acid in your mouth for up to an hour afterwards.
As a result, the British Dental Health Foundation is supporting Action on Sugar’s recommendations to remove fruit juice from the current guidelines for getting plenty of fruit and vegetables every day. They feel recommending fruit juice sends the wrong message to parents and could ultimately result in higher levels of childhood tooth decay.
Parents often provide children with fruit juice in between meals in the belief that they are giving them something that is relatively healthy. However if you do want to give your child a fruit juice or enjoy one yourself then it is best to do so as part of a meal. In general it is better to stick to giving children water or milk to drink, and to encourage them to eat the whole fruit rather than just the juice.
If you or another family member dolike to drink a lot of fruit juice and have not been to a dentist in a while then now might be a great time to book that check-up. Dr Zaki Bashir can assess the condition of your teeth and gums and will carefully check each tooth for any early signs of cavities. This is a visual examination, although he may gently probe the surface of each tooth to check for any softness in your tooth enamel.
Sometimes it is possible to reverse the early effects of acid erosion with fluoride treatments, but if a cavity has already begun to develop then it is much easier and cheaper to get it filled as soon as possible. It’s quite likely your Bromley dentist will recommend white fillings to mend any cavities as these are strong, and once in place are nearly invisible. As well as being cheaper to fill, early treatment reduces the possibility of more extensive tooth infections that can be pretty uncomfortable and which may require more extensive treatment such as root canal therapy to put right.
Bromley Dental Practice
Zaki graduated from University of Bristol 1999 and has practiced in Kent since then. He is passionate about dentistry and providing the highest standard of care for patients, at the same time, he keeps himself at the cutting edge of modern dental techniques.
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One excellent reason for thinking about braces is for the effects on your oral health. Braces can be used to correct issues with overcrowded or overlapping teeth, or to close up spaces in between teeth. If you have any of these problems then you might have found it is often difficult to keep your teeth as clean as you’d like. Teeth that are tightly packed in can be very difficult to floss, and it can be the same problem if they overlap. If you have gaps in between your teeth then these can often trap food.
White fillings are made from a composite resin material that closely resembles your natural teeth. The material comes in many different shades, and even in different translucencies so once the filling is placed it should be virtually invisible. 
Why Replace Missing Teeth?
They are still regarded as being the best and most reliable way to replace lost teeth, largely due to the way the implant replicates a natural tooth root. It not only anchors the replacement tooth firmly in position, but also manages to halt bone loss in the jaw. This is hugely important as bone loss can affect the stability of your remaining teeth, and the overall dimensions of your face. If you lose bone then you will lose some of the vertical height, creating the effect that the face is beginning to collapse inwards.
This particular brace is called the Inman Aligner, and is fully removable so it is very easy to look after your teeth and gums during treatment. It’s also possible for it to be left out completely for the occasional special event. The brace works through squeezing the teeth into the correct positions, and is primarily designed to only move the teeth visible when smiling. It uses a coiled spring that fits inside the tooth surfaces, placing pressure on the back of the teeth. At the same time another very thin metal bar is placed across the front of the teeth and has the effect of pushing the teeth back into position. This squeezing action is very effective at correcting the way teeth are aligned. The brace is extremely discreet as the metal wire going across the front the teeth is very thin, and this technology is tried and tested as it has been around for more than a decade now.